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Suspect in Indian reservation killings used drugs, police say

A man who killed four family members at a
Central California Indian reservation was known to authorities as someone with drug issues.

Tulare County Sheriff's Sgt. Chris Douglass said
authorities "were aware" of suspect Hector Celaya and he was "known to use drugs." A motive for the violence, however, remains unclear.

Celaya, 31, died Sunday after he was shot by Tulare County
sheriff's deputies, authorities said.

A 911 caller reported shots being fired shortly after 7:45 p.m.
Saturday in the 100 block of Chimney Road on the reservation. The caller
said the gunman fled in a green Jeep Cherokee. Authorities said
Celaya's daughters, ages 8 and 5, were with him.

Shelby Charley Jr., one of the first responders to the scene, said it was a “once-in-a-lifetime call."

“One moment we’re here at the firehouse joking around, getting ready
to eat some dinner,” said Charley, an engineer at the Tule River Fire
Department. “Next thing we know, we’re walking into a murder.”

Authorities found a man and woman shot to death at a trailer, and a
6-year-old boy injured. As Charley and his crew began to drive away with
the boy, authorities found another man fatally shot in a nearby shed.

Investigators were able to identify their suspect as Celaya, and
attempted to locate him through his cellphone. An Amber Alert was also
issued, Douglass said, because Celaya was considered armed and
dangerous.

Hours later, a deputy spotted a green Jeep about 20 miles away, near
the small town of Lindsay, Douglass said. The driver refused to stop,
prompting a low-speed chase, with the vehicle sometimes moving at less
than 15 mph.

"It wasn't a major pursuit," Douglass said. "He just would not pull over."

Shortly before 2 a.m. Sunday, the Jeep stopped. Deputies saw the
suspect fire a gun inside the vehicle. Deputies then opened fire on
Celaya, Douglass said.

Celaya and one of his daughters, Alyssa, age 8, were found dead. Linea Celaya, 5, was admitted to the hospital for treatment.

Douglass said Celaya shot both girls at some point, but it was not
clear when. Deputies could not see the girls when Celaya fired his gun
and thus don't know "if that's exactly when they were shot," Douglass
said.

The other victims were identified as Irene Celaya, 60; Francisco
Moreno, 61; and Bernard Franco, 53. Hector Celaya's son, Andrew, age 6,
was also injured and remains hospitalized.

The Tule River Tribe’s website describes its 139-year-old, 85-acre
reservation as a “remote rural area” that is “accessible only by one winding
paved road.”

“It is isolated in a rugged setting that allows for privacy and for
development independent from urban or recreational sprawl,” the website
states. The nearest city, Porterville, is roughly 20 miles west.